Oshkosh North students, Kiwanis 'Eliminate' MNT

Communities students Ashley Wissink, Kayla Luebke, Sonia Ochowicz and Autumn Stuart, all freshmen at Oshkosh North High School, provide feedback on posters that will be displayed at the Feb. 25 spaghetti dinner at North. The funds raised in partnership with Mid-Morning Kiwanis will go to support vaccines for maternal neonatal tetanus in developing countries.(Photo: Provided by Autumn Stuart)

North High School Communities students and Oshkosh Mid-Morning Kiwanis have partnered to help wipe out a disease in developing countries.

They'll host a spaghetti dinner Thursday at North High School, and the funds raised at it benefit The Eliminate Project. The project is a Kiwanis International initiative that aims to provide developing countries with funding to provide vaccines to women for maternal neonatal tetanus, or MNT.

The disease can be contracted during childbirth and is caused when tetanus spores, found in soil, come into contact with open cuts, according to the Kiwanis International website. The spores produce a deadly neurotoxin that spreads through the body and causes symptoms like repeated convulsions, spine fractures and extreme sensitivity to light and touch.

It's easy to contract MNT in developing countries, where at-home births are common and not very sterile, said freshman Autumn Stuart, adding 90 percent of babies in developing countries are born at home. The disease can kill a baby in less than a week.

However, there has been a vaccination for MNT since 1924. The three-part vaccine costs 60 cents per shot, totaling $1.80, said freshman Sonia Ochowicz. Besides the cost, traveling from rural areas and educating mothers on why they need the vaccine are barriers that hinder them from receiving it.

Students said the cost of an adult ticket ($10) to the spaghetti dinner will save five babies' lives. And, it includes admission to the North basketball game against Appleton West High School on Thursday.

Communities teachers Rick Leib and Julie Dumke said the goal of the program is to make learning meaningful and teach students through involvement with their community. This particular project, produced by freshmen and sophomores, helps students to make a difference in a community that stretches beyond Oshkosh.

"Our community isn't just Oshkosh, we have a global community," Dumke said. "So hopefully we can impact the global community as well as our own local community."

Kiwanis International works with UNICEF to implement The Eliminate Project on an international scale. The organization is closing in on its goal of raising $110 million toward the project, and as of February has raised $107 million.

Seth Murphy, a Mid-Morning Kiwanis member and chairman for the spaghetti dinner, said it's the biggest event the local chapter has held to benefit The Eliminate Project. He said the Communities students are an articulate group and it's been a great experience working with them.

"The biggest thing for me is hoping that these kids get excited about helping the community and fundraising," he said. "If this could be a stepping stone for them ... that's what it's all about."

The students and Kiwanis members had sold more than 300 tickets as of Tuesday. That had students excited, who said they originally hoped to have 160 people in attendance.

"We went from wanting 160 tickets to 200 and now it's almost to 350," Ochowicz said. "It's almost mind blowing, the impact of what the Communities program does."

Reach Noell Dickmann at 920-426-6658 or ndickmann@thenorthwestern.com; or follow her on Twitter @ONW_Noell

The Eliminate Project spaghetti dinner

Thursday, Feb. 25, 4:45-7 p.m.

Oshkosh North High School cafeteria

Advance tickets: $10 adults; $8 students; $5 children (includes admission to the North basketball game). Prices increase by $2 when purchasing tickets at the door.